Tractor Time - A Time for Reflection

My tractor and grain cart - where I have "tractor time"

One of my favorite parts of helping with harvest is having "tractor time."  What is tractor time you may ask?  Tractor time is a time to reflect, to pray, to dream.  I'm so thankful that I have this time of reflection daily.  Before I started to be at home full-time, my reflection time happened during my long car rides with my job.  And in college, my reflection time came during my walks to and around campus.  I've always found time to reflect, pray and even dream.  For me, this is an important element to a healthy life, a way to learn, and a part of the process to grow and move forward to the next step.  Do you make time to reflect during the busyness of life?  Here are a couple ways to incorporate your own version of "tractor time" in your life:

• Schedule a time to reflect during your day.  Like I mentioned earlier, I have always found a time during my day to reflect.  Maybe for you it will be while driving home from work, or while you're on a walk, or laying in your bed before you go to sleep.  Whenever and wherever it is, find a time, schedule it even if you need to, that way you can start developing the habit of reserving this time to stop, slow down and review.
• Remove any distractions.  If you think finding a time to reflect is hard, then watch out for this step.  As a Mom of two kids, two and under, I find this challenging, but you really can't have a good deep, heart-provoking reflection time with interruptions in your way.  Turn off your computer, put your phone on silent and find a quiet spot where you won't be disturbed.  Now, I will admit, in a tractor I can't zone out and be unaware of my surroundings and my duties, but at the same time, I do find my time in the tractor to be somewhat quiet.  It's a place where I can't worry about what's next on my to-do list or what needs to be done at the house, because I'm not at the house and I'm gone for so long during the day I don't really have time to work on my to-do list (like blog...).
• Pray and Dream.  After you have made your time to reflect, free from distractions, it is time to pray and then dream.  No matter if you're reflecting about work, about family or about life in general, taking the time to pray and talk to God about your deliberations, your desires, and your praises is important to do daily as well.  And then dreaming is the fun thing you can do to round-out and finish your "tractor time".  I have always enjoyed thinking about and even trying to plan the future.  Now I say that while reminding you about the old saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans."

I hope you all find time to reflect during your day.  What other steps would you add to encourage others to take the time to reflect?  Where do you have "tractor time"?

To conclude, I have to share this quote that I found when I got home today from the field.  I think it goes so well with this post, as well as encompasses harvest time in general.